


steal a kiss (in hopes of a future)

by aishiteArtemis



Series: i write aus until i run out of them [6]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, I'm Sorry, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, Nervous Saihara Shuichi, Not A Fix-It, Not Beta Read, Oma Kokichi Being Oma Kokichi, Oops?, POV Oma Kokichi, Poor dude, Sad Ending, Sad Oma Kokichi, Sad Saihara Shuichi, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Tired Saihara Shuichi, i am the angst king ahahahaha, i am throwinbg our amami simp kokichi alter a crumb, i cant write non angst saiouma apparently?, idk i started this a while ago so like yea, kokichi is a kiss thief, lowkey cliche but like i smashed two cliches togetjer, theres lowkey a tiny bit of implied oumami, this is probably very painful, very nervous, when you kiss ur souldmate you see colours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28526811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aishiteArtemis/pseuds/aishiteArtemis
Summary: kokichi ouma was by trade: a liar, a leader, and, perhaps most significantly, a kiss thief.or; when you kiss your soulmate you see colours. kokichi just wants to be wanted by someone so he decides to find his soulmate, whatever it takes, and killing game be damned.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Amami Rantaro, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Series: i write aus until i run out of them [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952251
Comments: 7
Kudos: 117





	steal a kiss (in hopes of a future)

**Author's Note:**

> i started this quite some time ago and i loved the idea but our kokichi alter was complaining so i finished it off while he was away
> 
> saiouma angst baybee enjoy

Kokichi Ouma was by trade: a liar, a leader, and, perhaps most significantly, a kiss thief.

He wasn't entirely sure when he started doing it. Perhaps in the early days of his childhood, when he first learned of soulmates, how colours would flow into the monochrome world when they shared their first kiss. (It was odd, then, that the memory was so hazy, and that, although he remembered the words, he could not tell who had said them to him.) Young Kokichi had stuck out his tongue in disgust, as most seven year olds would do. Kissing? Gross. But even then he couldn't deny how exciting these colours seemed. And that, he believed, was where his trade as a kiss thief began.

As he recalled, Kokichi's first tooth had fallen out, and someone who seemed to have a feminine shadow asked him, jokingly, if he had been kissing girls. The truth was yes, and some boys as well, but Kokichi did not really deal in truth (it did not suit him so well), so he had shaken his head no.

That was his origin.

One might have thought that the fact he was in a killing game might have deterred Kokichi from his lifelong mission, but they would be woefully mistaken. Although he was, admittedly, somewhat worried about finding and then losing his soulmate, somehow he still wanted to know. Know who it was to show his life hadn't been in vain.

Besides, it was a welcome distraction from the situation, after all, and he did have to admit that most of his classmates were pretty cute.

So, he decided to embark on his usual quest, to kiss all of the fifteen other people in this stupid game.

Selecting someone at random, seeing as there wasn't anyone around who stood out obviously as his potential soulmate (they could seem rather arbitrary when found, although things almost always worked out), Kokichi decided the first person he would steal a kiss from was Kaede. She was pretty, admittedly, although she seemed a little dull, and the guy he had nicknamed Shumai was often hanging around her, although he didn't seem like much of a threat.

Kaede seemed somewhat displeased to have Kokichi mooching around with her, but she didn't seem to be on the point of yelling at him to leave or resorting to violence. Kokichi took this as something of a green light that she probably wouldn't mind too much if he kissed her, so he proceeded with his plan.

The second day of Kokichi's lurking he caught Kaede off guard and gave her a quick peck on the lips. He drew back quickly and was met with a slap from the now red-faced girl. Giving her a cheeky grin and ignoring the sting of pain, Kokichi legged it. Although a giggle trailed after him, his vision remained monochrome.

Kaito clearly did not like Kokichi, but his Random Wheel of Fortune had landed on him, so he was somewhat obligated to check if he wasn't Kokichi's soulmate. Anyway, he was fun to annoy, and Kokichi had concluded that this kiss would come under annoying him.

This time, he didn't bother to hang around, vaguely creepily - he was on a schedule here, after all. It was simplicity itself: Kokichi simply waltzed up to the guy, kissed him and ran off like a child playing tag, ignoring Kaito's shouting. He had no results though: the world stubbornly remained black and white. He sighed quietly. Thirteen to go.

\---

Rantaro approached him the next day, fidgeting nervously with his necklace. "So, I hear you're the resident kiss thief, Ouma?"

Kokichi looked at him curiously. "That'd be me, yes. Any reason you're asking, Amami-chan?"

Rantaro chose not to answer the question, instead stating, "You know you could just ask people. Lots of them want to find their soulmates too so they often say yes."

"Only if they're talking to you. People don't find me nearly as likeable." he replied, with a vague hint of bitterness. "So I'd guess you're looking for your soulmate too?"

The other boy nodded. "Sorta wanna see the colours they talk about. Y'know, before I die. You?"

Kokichi considered his own motives. To be truthful, he wasn't entirely sure of the reason any more. At first, he'd just wanted to see colours; later, he wished to be wanted by someone; recently he'd thought about the noble goal of granting someone else their colours (although very little about Kokichi was truly noble). So, as usual, he opted to lie.

"Nishishi, I just want to be a bother," he giggled mischievously.

"Really?"

"Nah, that's a lie, Amami-chan, of course!"

Rantaro shook his head slowly from side to side. It didn't seem like a particularly irritated movement; rather slightly fond. Why Rantaro seemed unbothered by his lies was rather a mystery, but he didn't trouble himself to figure it out in that moment.

"Anyway," Rantaro continued, seeming nervous again, "Since we seem to have a common goal, I was wondering if you'd like to...?" He trailed off, subconsciously raising a hand to his lips.

"Oh, certainly," Kokichi nodded, so they both leaned in to touch their lips together. Cautious and slow, Kokichi's arms tentatively around Rantaro's neck as he realised this was the first kiss he hadn't had to steal.

The kiss was nice, on all accounts: after all, they'd both had a lot of practice, and Kokichi wouldn't say he hadn't enjoyed it, but when Rantaro pulled away, his hair was still that same shade of grey, and they sighed in unison.

"Well... Thank you," Rantaro said, with a small, awkward smile.

"Yeah, thanks," Kokichi echoed, and Rantaro headed on his way.

Kokichi did find himself missing the kiss, oddly. He pondered on whether or not he should consider it his first, as he'd stolen all those thousands of others. Yeah, Amami-chan was by no means the worst person he could've had that with.

He almost wished he had been his soulmate, because he wouldn't have minded. Not at all.

\---

Rantaro died, first kill of the game, and it hurt Kokichi far more than it should have. After all, their only real connection was that kiss they'd shared, and Kokichi had kissed thousands of people in his quest to find his colours. So it shouldn't mean anything. But somehow, all he could think about was the offhand remark Rantaro had made. _Sorta wanna see the colours they talk about. Y'know, before I die._

He didn't know if he had. And he never would know now.

Kaede was found guilty at the class trial, the first blackened, but nobody really felt joy at it. Although she wasn't innocent like Rantaro, she still didn't deserve the death penalty... did she? 

She had killed Rantaro, though. An innocent boy, one with a hope for the future-

No. This was how it had to be. He had to detach himself from it, or he'd never survive this place. Detach.

Just a moment before her execution, Kaede, seeing Kokichi's expression, leaned over, and whispered into his ear one phrase, one which held a multitude of information. "Rantaro... his hair was green."

And then she was gone, and Shuichi was reaching out to her in distress, and all Kokichi could think was _why, why, why?_

He shed some real tears that night, clenched his fists and vowed not to ever get even slightly attached to anyone in this game again. 

_Detach_. _That's the way._

\---

Next on Kokichi's list was Kirumi, and he winced slightly at the thought. Kissing her just seemed weird to him, she had a mother figure vibe to him. But he still had to do it, just to check. He caught her in the hallway with a quick peck on the lips and a whispered apology, something that was difficult to elicit from him. Nothing more was spoken about it and the colours remained out of reach.

Ryoma, Angie, Tenko (and a very bruised face as a result of the latter) passed by in a blur, remaining black and white. Kissing Korekiyo was out of the question, but it didn't matter because he was soon dead, the killing game continuing relentlessly, more and more people gone. 

He kissed Kiibo, a shot in the dark. He didn't even know if robots had soulmates. But it was worth the try, wasn't it? But afterwards, there was not a single hint of colour, just a dark blush on the robot's cheeks and accusations of robophobia.

After the third trial, he and Maki stood outside in the hallway. He gave her a passive look, and she said, "Don't even think about it, rat."

"I'm not!" he said, waving his hands in mock innocence. "Still, how am i to know you're not my soulmate, Maki-roll?"

"Don't call me that!" Maki spat in disgust, taking a step towards him threateningly. Kokichi, of course, stepped back. "And Kaito's my soulmate anyway. There's your proof, so keep your dirty mouth away from mine."

"All right, all right," Kokichi assured her, pretending to be upset, the crocodile tears coming easily. Though he did feel a little upset. Not because he didn't get to kiss Maki, of course. Sort of jealousy. That she, who undoubtedly hadn't even been looking, had found her soulmate so easily. And he, who had made it his life's work, had not.

It didn't seem at all fair.

 _The world isn't fair_ , a voice in his head supplied. A hazy lost memory.

\---

Himiko did not appreciate the kiss in the slightest. He would've thought they'd be getting wise to him by now, but she hadn't even suspected until he had done it. It wasn't worth it, though. Monochrome remained.

He found out Miu's plan and of course had to put his own plan into action as a counter-attack. It was the only way. _Detach_ , he told himself. _Detach from the room of people who hate you to their cores. Detach from the constantly imminent danger of this game. Detach from all the dead people._ Miu dead. Gonta dead. Neither his soulmate.

_A few more kisses, just a few more he had to steal._

He clung to the goal. Blocking everything else out entirely. There was nothing else he could do.

He felt more and more empty these days.

 _Just a few more._ Maybe his soulmate would fill the void, and it'd be miraculously alright.

\---

Shumai was next. And he couldn't help but maybe hope against hope that maybe he was the one? It had nothing to do with the slight warmth he felt in his chest every time he saw him. Nothing at all. Just his usual mission.

He found the boy in the bathroom, washing his hands. Nothing out of the ordinary there. He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Now was as good a time as any, wasn't it?

The detective boy jumped, evidently hearing him. It was logical to be jumpy when alone in the middle of a killing game, but it still seemed excessive to him. "O-Oh! H-Hey there, Ouma..."

"Heyyyy Shumai!" Kokichi said, feigning nonchalance. "How's it going? Y'know why I'm here?"

"To use the bathroom?" the other boy suggested, tilting his head to the side. 

"Nope!" Kokichi replied, popping the 'p' with a grin. "You know me, Shumai. I'm the kiss thief."

Usually by this point he would've stolen his kiss and noped out of there, but for some reason Kokichi felt the urge to prolong this. It was rather strange. 

Shuichi seemed to have nothing to say to his statement (not for lack of trying. His mouth was opening and shutting like a goldfish), so Kokichi advanced on him until they were face to face. "Hi," Kokichi said again.

"H-Hi?" he stammered. "Kokichi, what are you-"

Kokichi only grinned and cut off the statement with a kiss. And something felt different about it. Maybe it was the fact Shuichi was leaning into it? Like he wanted it? No, it wasn't that, even though that felt... good. Something about the situation or the way his hands felt on Shuichi's neck?

When he pulled away, after what could have been a few seconds or a few decades, he thought it hadn't worked for a moment. Staring down at Shuichi's black striped shirt, as monochrome as ever. But a surprised squeak from Shuichi (awfully belatedly, he mused) caused Kokichi to glance up and meet his eyes.

Wide, bright, shining, golden eyes.

His brain supplied the name of the colour somehow and all Kokichi could do was stare, mouth slightly open. The boy's eyes were beautiful to say the least. He had been seeing colours for around three seconds now and already he was sure they would be the most dazzling thing he'd ever see.

Shuichi frowned at his silence, sweeping his hair out of his eyes ( _navy_ , he thought involuntarily). "Kokichi? Are you alright?"

"Do... Do you see it? Shu- Shumai, do you see them?" Kokichi said, quietly, almost overwhelmed by it all.

"See what?"

Two words. Just two. Yet they were enough to have his whole world crashing down around him.

He couldn't even hear anything any more. Shuichi seemed to be saying something, the golden eyes looking worried, but he couldn't hear it, all he could think was why, why, why?

Was it even _possible_? To have someone be your soulmate but for you not to be theirs?

Maybe he'd somehow achieved the impossible in getting this sort of luck. It probably served him right, really.

"Kokichi! Hey, look at me," Shuichi said, softly, and he felt another stab of pain inside. It hurt. 

"You... I... Your eyes are gold, Shumai," he blurted, then cursed himself for saying it. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

So he did what he always did. Ran like hell. Ran away as fast as he could, with a pained laugh, blocking out Shuichi's confused calls.

\---

Kokichi coughed loudly in the dusty air of the Exisal hangar. It seemed the poison was taking effect. Good, he guessed.

"Are... Are you sure about this, Ouma?" Kaito said, frowning. "Couldn't we get out of this some other way?"

"Shut up Momota. Do you want your little soulmate to live or not?" Kokichi scowled, almost spitting the word "soulmate". 

"I... Alright then." he sighed, seemingly taken aback by his tone.

Kokichi squeezed his eyes shut as soon as he heard the sound of the machinery, not daring to open them.

Rotten colours. Rotten soulmates. It was all for nothing. Maybe if he died this way, he'd actually be able to make some kind of difference. 

His whole life, for nothing. Nothing meant anything to him any more anyway. It was always going to turn out this way. Avoiding Shuichi as much as he could, not letting the boy speak to him, because he couldn't bear to hear his sympathies, treating him like a kicked puppy. It was all his fault, he was sure of it. And maybe if he went out this way, his life might not have been entirely pointless. It was the only way.

He shivered. It sure was cold there.

 _I'm sorry, Shumai,_ he thought as the press came down. _At least I wasn't boring... right?_

\---

His blood was pink.

\---

"Hey, Kokichi," Shuichi said, staring sightlessly at the memorial photo. "How're you doing?"

He paused. "Ah, what am I doing, talking to a photograph. I must be going mad."

There was no reply, only the whistling of the wind through the thin trees.

"I guess I wanted to say... I'm sorry. I know I say it a lot, but I mean it. I'm sorry for not telling you soon enough. I'm so- so..." 

His breath caught, his voice choking in his throat with a sob.

"Ach, what am I crying about? I lived, and you didn't. Maybe if I'd managed to tell you... You weren't making it easy for me though, Kokichi. Avoiding me and all. But... I was in shock - you kissed me, of course I was - I barely even noticed it at first- "

A painful laugh.

"I guess I'm also here because... I miss you. More than I thought was possible. And it hurts." A pause. "Did it hurt? To die? It must have. What were you thinking then? Regretting it? Happy?"

He sighed. "Oh, Kokichi. Why did you have to die on me? Why...?"

He couldn't hold the sobs back then. Kokichi's smiling face was splattered with tears like raindrops. And he was alone. Shuichi was alone.

He calmed himself, after an age. "Ah... Sorry. Here, I brought you something, Kokichi. Maybe, if you're out there, in some form... you can appreciate it."

A bouquet of flowers was laid before Kokichi's photograph.

"Look, they're purple. Just like you were."

The purple flowers sat rather forlornly on Kokichi's grave. And they did match his eyes.

The detective's footsteps echoed too loudly through the empty streets.

**Author's Note:**

> i don't even ship amamatsu but i thought "wAIT I CAN MAKE IT EVEN SADDER"
> 
> yea sorry abt that hahaha apparently sometimes people cry at my work so sorry abt the too
> 
> maybe leave a comment or kudos if u liked it hahaha idk whatever


End file.
